Category: Bridesmaids

In the two photos above, you see my four daughters at daughter number 1 and daughter number 2’s weddings. My girls have built-in bridesmaids. The two younger girls, now 17 and 20, have already been in 3 weddings. (They were flower girls at a tender age) Heck , maybe this is a profession they may want to pursue! They have enough experience! 🙂 Not all brides are as lucky as my daughters, however. I have heard, and have seen, horror stories about less than attentive bridesmaids. If you hire a professional, you have more control. Concerned about the hairstyle of your attendants? Write it into your “professional” contract that your bridesmaid not cut her hair until AFTER the wedding. Want your girls to wear their hair in an “undo”? Write that in too!

So what exactly does a “Professional Bridesmaid” do? Well, exactly what a friend or relative would. According to the knot.com, duties include“…planning and arranging bridal showers, bachelorette parties, wedding speeches, wedding day logistics and managing email chains and group texts.”

Let’s face it. In today’s world, ladies are thrilled to be a tapped as an honor attendant, but life can get in the way of doing a good job. If one’s JOB is to be a bridesmaid, she can make your wedding her top priority. But would this really make you happy?

The girls as “Little Girls”

There is something so magical about the bond that ladies share as they support their friend or relative in the months and days leading up to her wedding. And note the photo above when my daughters were much younger. Standing up for their sisters on the most important day of their lives is just another page in their book of memories. Some things just can’t be bought…

The Infinity Bridesmaid Dress – one dress, so many options! The attire for brides’ attendants in the last couple of years has made a dramatic change. No long must ladies’ dresses match. Brides are being very generous to their attendants. They are allowing them to choose the fabric, style, color and price point that best fits their needs. Usually, a color palate is suggested. But all else is up for grabs.

And what do I mean about an “Infinity” dress? Well, take a look at the above photo and all the options for it! Pick your neckline, back, sleeves or no sleeves…I love it! Not your favorite, well, look at all the other options on this post! The dresses in the next photo are all different, yet they have the same air. They all have gauzy, floaty skirts, but differing necklines and colors. The hues flow and compliment each other.

Feeling a little more glam? Love the beauties below. These gowns would definitely be for an evening affair. I think it works to have differing hemlines as well. Perhaps one lady has great legs and wants to show them off — opt for a short skirt! Have a generous bustling you’re proud of? Choose one with a more plunging neckline. It’s a win-win for all.

The next two photos have ladies dressed in all the same color, but differing styles. This works for me. And I think these girls really COULD wear their dresses again! If you look closely, the bouquets the ladies in red are varying as well.

Love the yellow color below. But I think long gowns for bridesmaids is on the way out. Especially with a light informal color such as the yellow. I see this hue as a light casual spring/summer wedding. Lovely.

Ah… the bridesmaid dress … we women all have strong thoughts about this attire. We’ve all worn them. I truly think in my generation, brides picked the ugliest dresses so their bridesmaids did not outshine them… 🙂

In the last five years, the bridesmaids’ uniform has morphed, I think for the better. Now, the dress is something ladies truly CAN wear again! Remember, ladies of a certain age? We all promised our friends, “…and you can wear it again!” As we showed our bridesmaids the less than attractive dress. The same dress all the girls could be wearing to the same future event.

What do you think of the two photos above? I personally love the two piece option! And I think the netting skirts are lovely – although really, not wearable again… I love the options brides are giving their maids, that of choosing dresses similar, but different either in style or color. That way, different body types are considered. While the dresses below seem to match, the bodices and colors are different.

Modern brides are even going as far as to let their friends wear whatever they can afford AND feel good in. Look at the photos above and below. While I wouldn’t go as far as to say the above photo dresses flow, I DO think the bottom colors and styles work well together.

Love love the next two photos. The top photo is from a wedding I worked this summer. The bride had her maids dress in pastels and her honor attendants in a darker shade. Lovely. And the bottom photo is from one of my favorite posts, Rustic Wedding Done Right . Click on the link if you’d like to read about it. While not the same dress or shade, the dresses work with a complimentary color palate. Exquisite.

Sisters – brides’ best attendants. I was not blessed with any siblings, but my daughters are. The have three sisters, four girls in all. Above is one of my favorite photos of the girls together…ok…perhaps the photo below is my favorite. As my oldest, the bride in the photo below says, “This picture is the Original ” ‘Til Death Due Us Part’.” Yes it is…yes it is.

Or maybe my favorite is this photo…the day I became a mother-in-law for the first time…

But this must be my favorite of all…when my most recent son-in-law became my son. So what is the same about all these photos? The four girls in them. There will most likely be four weddings. We have had two already. Who will be the SAME in all the photos? Who will stand up at the ceremony, who will throw the showers, the bachelorettes, give the bride a hug when she is over-wrought? Her sisters. Who will grin and bear it when the bride has a melt-down and declares she is upset with all her bridesmaids, that no one is there for her? Who else will wear the ugly dress, shoes and her hair exactly like the bride wishes, without complaint? Her sisters.

So Brides To Be…if you are lucky enough to be blessed with sisters, always include them, always pull them in, always choose them above all others to be in your wedding. No one will ever be the biggest constant in your lives. No one..

So if it comes down to a college room mate, a childhood friend, a new friend or your sister. Always, always choose the girl who grew up with you, who shares your parents, who knows you best, and always will.